Feeler-loom



' .Torus Nomnnor, oF'HoPEDALnMAssAcHUsETTs, AssrGNoa To normannaMANUFACTUBING'COMPANY, 0F MILFORD,

T ION 0F MASSAGHUSETTS.

MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORA- FEELEBfIaOOM.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 22, 1921.

Application led May 26, 1917. Serial No. 171,128.

To all rwhom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, JoNAs NoRTTTRor, a citizen of the United States,residlng at HopedaleMin the county of Worcester and State ofassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 1nlFeeler-Looms; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will-enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

Thepresent invention, relates to ,an improvement in feeler looms andmore particularly the invention relates to an im'- provement in threadextracting devices for such looms.

When the filling in the active shuttle of a feeler loom is exhausted toa predetermined extent, the filling feeler mechanism operates toinitiate the weft replenishing operation, and thereupon the bobbin orfilling carrier with a certain amount of filling still on it is ejectedfrom the shuttle b the insertion of a filled bobbin therein. nasmuch asthe replenishing operation takes place before the filling in the vactive`shuttle is completely exhausted, the filling thread will extend fromthe shed or selvage to the outgoing bobbin. It is customary to severthis filllng end relatively near the shuttle so that as the criticallyexhausted bobbin is forced out of the shuttle, it may draw this filling-end after it through the shuttle eye. It sometimes happens, however,that this filling end is caught between the shuttle and the front wallor the binder of the shuttle box, and consequently the bobbin drops tothe bottom of its receptacle, leaving the filling end in the Shuttle boxand extending through the shuttle eye. In such casesthere is a liabilitof this filling end being drawn into the s ed on the first pick oftheshuttle after the replenishing operation. The presence of this fillingend in the shed is called a double pick and is a blemish in the cloth;and accordingly various devices have heretofore been proposed foreliminating this outgoing filling end, that isto say, for preventing itsbeing drawn into the shed and causing a double pick. Some of theseproposed thread. extracting devices have performed their function beforethe first evacuation of the shuttle box at the replenishing side of theloom after the replenishing operation, and others have performed thelrfunction after the first evacuatlon of the replenishin shuttle box bythe shuttle after the. rep enishing operatlon.

The object of the present invention is to lmprove the construction andorganization of feeler loom thread extracting devices of the type whichoperate to extract the thread from the loom after the shuttle on itsfirst pick away from the replenishing side of the loom after relenishment has evacuated the shuttle box. o the accomplishment of thisobJect and such other objects as shall herelnafter appear, the presentinvention consists in the improved thread extracting device described inthe following specification and particularly pointed out in the appendedclaims.

The preferred form in which it is contemplated embodying the features ofthe present inventionis illustrated in the ac companying drawings, inwhich Figure 1 1s an end elevation of a portion of a feeler loom,showing the application of the improved thread extractlng device of thepresent invention thereto; Fig. 2 is a front elevation on an enlargedscale of parts of the thread extracting device; Fig. 3 is a sectiontaken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig. 3,showing the parts in a different position of operation; and Fig. 5 is aside elevation ofthe upper end of theA thread hook actuating andresetting member.

The feeler loom to which the thread extracting device of the presentinvention is applied for the purpose of extracting the outgoing fillingend from the shed or from the loom after the evacuation of thereplenishing shuttle box by the shuttle on its first pick after theweft'replenishing operation, may be of any usual or'preferredconst-ruction. The portion ofthe loom illustrated in the drawingscomprises a frame 10, in the lower art of which is pivoted the rockshaft 11 or sustaining the lay swords 12 which support the lay 13, whichis oscillated toward and from the breast beam 15. A

change shaft 16 is journaled in brackets se' v the other end of the loomthrough the hopper army 17 with the weft replenishing mechanism. This'change shaft 16 and the filling feeler mechanism constitute loomcontrolling devices. It will be observed that in the event of theapplication of the present 1nvention toan automatic loom, thereplenishing operations of which are initiated on the exhaustion orbreakage of the filhng, the change shaft 16 would, in that case, beconnected lwith the usual filling detector mechanism, But where afilling feeler mechanism is employed to control the operations of theweft replenishing mechanism, an operation of the latter is effected whenthe filling feeler mechanism indicates that the filling in the activeshuttle has been exhausted to a predetermined extent. Thereupon, anoscillation of the change shaft 16 results, on the following beat-up ofthe lay, in the insertion of a fresh -supply of filling in "the shuttle.The critically exhausted bobbin having been ejected from the shuttle itfalls through the usual aperture 19 in the lay down into the bobbinreceptacle or can 20.

If when the shuttle is boxed at the replenishing side of the loom theoutgoing filling end, that is to say, that portion of the filling whichextends from the selvage to the outgoing bobbin, is not caught betweenthe shuttle and the binder or front wall of the shuttle box, thedescending bobbin will pull it through the shuttle eye clear of theloom, the usual thread parter having first operated to sever itrelatively near the shuttle, and therefore no double pick can result. Ifhowever, this portion of the outgoing filling end should be caughtbetween the shuttle and the binder or the front wall of the shuttle box,then on the first pick of the shuttle awa from the replenishing side ofthe loom this filling end will be drawn 'into the loom toward the clothand, most frequently, into the. shed and thereby cause a double pick.The improved thread extracting devlce of the present invention'operatesafter the outgoing filling end has been drawn into the loom or into theshed by the shuttle, vto pull it therefrom.

The improved thread extracting device is shown in the illustration ofits preferred embodiment as comprising a thread hook 22 .which isadapted, at the proper times, to

engage an outgoing filling end which has been drawn into the shed andextract it therefrom before the warp threads close together upon it.This thread hook 22 has on lts upper extremity a thread hook proper orfilling engaging part 23. During the normal or regular weaving operationof the loom, the threadv hook 22 is arranged Substantially verticalalongside the filling replenishing end of the. loom. The lower end 24 ofthe thread hook serves as a pivot pin `outer end of an arm 31 secured tothe rock shaft 11. A spring 32, connected with the arm 31 and with therod 30, acts normally to force the actuator 29 toward the front of theloom, this yielding connection between the arm 31 and the rod 30 beingprovided so that the actuator 29 may be defiected rearwardly at theproper time, in order to actuate the thread hook. For the purpose ofactuating the thread hook to cause it to swing outwardly from the loom,the actuator 29 1s provided with a cam surface 34 which is adapted, onthe first backward beat of the lay after replenishment, to come intoengagement with a cam projection or lug 35 projecting from a hub 36rigidly secured to the shaft portion 24 of the thread hook. This lug 35,while the thread hook is in normal position, presses against the uperend 37 of the bracket 27, as shown in ig. 3. The cam surfacev 34 of theactuator 29 is prevented from engaging with the lug 35 durin regularweaving, and for this purpose t e actuator 29 is provided with alaterally flaring part 38 in the under side of which is a groove 39which is normally in alinement with a downwardly projecting guide finger40 of an actuator controller member 41 pivoted at 42 on the bracket 27.During regular weaving, the controller 41 is held in the position shownin Fig. 1, so that as the actuator 29 is caused to rise, by reason ofthe connections between it and the rock shaft 11, on the backward beatof the lay, the groove 39 engages the guide finger 40 and the actuatoris thereby caused to rise inoperatively, so that its cam surface 34passes the lug 35 without engaging it. The actuator controller 41 isadapted to be moved at the proper time to permit the actuator 29 to bedeflected so that its cam surface 34 may come into engagement with thelug 35 to actuate the thread hook, and for th1s purpose the controller41 is connected with an arm 43, secured to the -change shaft 16 andextending rearwardly therefrom, by means of a rod 44 which is pivotallyconnected at its lower end with the con- .troller and at its upper endis loosely received in a hole in a boss 45 secured to the outer end ofthe arm 43. A sprin 46, one end of which is secured to the ro 44 and theother end of which is secured to the boss 45, permits relative movementbetween the arm 43 and the rod 44, for a purpose to be presentlydescribed. The oscillatory move- Y ments of the pivoted actuatorcontroller 41 outwardly from the loom; and on the next succeedingbackward beat of the lay the actuator 29 operates to return the threadhook to its normal or inoperative position. For this latter purpose theactuator is provided with two cam projections and 51, which are arrangedto successively engage, as the actuator rises, with corresponding camlugs 52 and 53 respectively, secured to the hub 36. v v

The actuator 29 does not moveA the thread hook to the full extent of itsoutward movement from the loom, nor does it move the thread hook to thefull extent of its return or resetting movement toward the loom. Theactuator 29 simply initiates the outward movement of the thread hook andthe resetting -movement thereof. The outward movement of the thread hook23 is completed by a spring 54, and the return movement of the threadhook is completed by the same spring. This spring 54 1s secured at itslower end to the bracket 27, and at its upper end to a curved piece 55which is pivotally connected at its upper end with an arm 56 projectingoutwardly from the hub 36. This arm -36 is so arran ed that when thethread hook is in` norma position, the line of pull exerted upon thepivotal connection 57 between the arm 56 and the piece 55 is to the rearof the shaft portion 24 of the thread hook, as shown in Fig. 3, and whenthe hook has been moved outwardly from the loom, the ull of the springis on the front side of tde shaft portion 24, as shown in Fig. 4. Astand 59 having a notched end 60 is provided for the purpose of limitingthe downward movement of the thread hook.

The operation of the threa-d extractlng device is as follows: While theloom is ,running normally, that is to say, durlng regular Weaving, thethread hook 22 occuples its position alongside the loom frame, as shownin Fig. 1, and -the thread hook actuator 29 -moves constantly upwardlyand downwardly, its cam surface 34 being held from engagement with the1u 35 by the guidefinger -40 of the control er 41. But when the fillingfeelermechanism indicates that the filling 1n the active shuttle hasbeenexhausted to a predetermined extent, the change shaft 16 is turned in acounterclockwise direction, and the arm 43 is |15 raised. The turning ofthe change shaft 16 and the conse uent raising of the arm 43 take` placeon t e backward beat of the lay, andthe timing of the movements of thevarious parts is such that before the arm 43 can actuate the controller41`and swing the guide finger 40 to the left, the actuator 29 has risen,so that the roove 39 engages with the guide finger 40. s the arm 43rises, the loose connection between it and the rod44 permits it to risewithout imparting any motion to the rod 44, the controller 41,therefore, remains in normal position, and the cam surface 34 on theactuator 29 is kept from engagement with the lug 35. By the time the layhas reached its rear center, the shuttle has been picked to thereplenishing side of the loom, and' then the lay beats forward on thereplenishing beat-up. As

the-lay beats forward, the actuator 29 is dis-v engaged from the guidefinger 40, and thereupon the spring 46 acts to lift the rod 44 andoscillate the controller 41, swinging the guide finger 40 to the left;It will be observed at this point that the tension of the spring 46 isso adjusted that during regular weaving it acts as an expansion springto force the rod 44 downwardly; but when the arm 43 has been raised, thes ring 46 acts as a contraction spring to pullpthe rod 44 upwardly. Theposition of the actuator 29 and its controller at this time is indicatedin dot and dash lines in Fig. 2. The relenishing operation takes place.while the ay is substantially on its front center, and upon thecompletion of the replenishing operation the lay beats backward.Coincldent with the backward movement of the lay the actuator 29 risesand the cam surface 62 formed on the side of the projection 38 comesinto engagement with the corre-4 spondin cam surface 63 formed on themner si e of the guide finger, so that as the actuator 29 continues torise, it is deflected to the right into alinement with the lug 35,

as shown in dot and dash lines in Fig. 2,`

the pivotal connection between the ro and the arm 31 permitting thisdeflecting movement of the actuator.A Then as the acvtuator completesits rising movements, its

cam surface 34 strikes the lug 35 and oscillates the shaft 24 until theouter end of the arm 56 is swung to the front of the shaft 24, andthereupon the spring 54 acts to complete the outward and downwardmovement of the thread hook.l The movements of the various parts havebeen described as taking place during the backward beat of the lay afterthe replenishing operation. It will be observed, however, that thethread hook actuation is not initiated until the llO- lay issubstantially on its rear center. The

actuation of the thread hook 'is so timed that the shuttle has hadopportunity to evacuate the re lenishing shuttle box before the threadhoo moves outwardly from the ting movement.

loom. Of course if no outgoing filling end was caught between theshuttle and the binder or front wall of the shuttle box, the

thread hook moved outwardly without en-l gaging the filling end,becauselthe latter had been pulled down through the shuttle eye by thebobbin in the usual manner. But if the outgoing filling end was caughtin the shuttle' box, t then the outward movement of the thread hookcaused itV to be engaged and pulled out ofthe shed and from the loom.

While thelay was beating backward after replenishment, the change shaft16 and the arm 43 were returning to normal position, but inasmuch asduring these movements the controller 41 was held locked by the actuator29, in the position shown in dot and dash lines in Fig. 2, the arm 43moved downwardly relatively to the rod 44 without causing an actuationof the latter. The lay now beats forward, and the actuator 29 descends,the spring 32 forcing it outwardly, so that by the time the cam face 62passes below the cam face 63 on the guide finger 40, the actuator isrestored to its normal position with its groove 39 in alinement with theposition normally occupied by the guide finger. The disengagement of thecam face 62 from the cam face 63 permits the spring 46, now undercompression, to force the rod 44 downwardly, thereby oscillating thecontroller 41 and restoring the guide finger 40 to its normal position.The actuator 2 9 and its controller 41 are now in normal position, sothat-on the next backward beat of the lay, that is to say, the secondbackward beat of the lay after replenishment, the groove 39 againengages,

the guide finger 40 as the actuator 29 rises. As theactuator 29 rises onthis second backward beat of the lay after replenishment, the camprojection 50 first comes into engagement with its corresponding cam lug52 secured to the shaft 24, and causes the shaft to be oscillated tobegin its return or reset- Then as the actuator continues to rise, thecam projection 51 comes into engagement with its corresponding cam lug53, and the shaft 24 is thereby oscil` lated far enough so that thespring 54 can -complete the resetting of the thread hook.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. A threadextracting device for looms having, in combination, a thread hookarranged to swing outwardly from the loom, means for'actnating thethreadhook on the first backward beat of the lay after replenishment, andmeans for resetting the thread hook on the second backward beat of thelay after replenishment. v

2. A thread extracting device for looms having, in combination, a threadhook, a shaft for supporting the thread hook, pro- Lampes jections onthe shaft, an actuator connected with the lay rock shaft having partsnormally disconnected from but adapted on weft replenishment to coperatewith the projections to actuate the thread' hook and to reset it, and acontroller connected with the change shaft of the loom for controllingthe action of the actuator.

`3. A thread extracting device for looms having, in combination, athread hook, an oscillatory shaft upon which the thread hook is mounted,and means connected with the lay rock shaft to actuate the oscillatoryshaft to impart a thread extracting movement to the thread hook on onebackward beat of the lay and to impart a resetting movement to thethread hook on `the next backward beat of the lay.

4. A thread extracting device for looms having, in combination, a threadhook, a shaft on which the thread hook is mounted, an arm -projectingoutwardly from the shaft, a spring connected therewith, and

means for actuating the shaft to shift the position of the arm so thatthe spring may complete the action of moving the threa hook. i

5. A thread extracting device for looms having, in combination, a threadhook mounted to swing outwardly away from the loom, a spring connectedltherewith, and means connected with the lay rock shaft for initiatingthe outward.' swing. of the thread hook and the resettino' movement ofthe thread hook, said spring acting to complete the outward swing of thethread hook and the resetting thereof.

6. A thread extracting device for looms having, in combination, apivotally mounten thread hook, an actuator therefor connected with thelay rock shaft and arranged to have a constant reciprocatory motionduring regular weaving, and means to prevent the actuation of the threadhook by thc actuator during regular weavin and to permit the actuationof the threa hook by the actuator on the rst backward beat of the layfollowing replenishment.

7.- A thread extracting device for looms having, in combination, athread hook, an oscillatory shaft on which the thread hook is mounted,cam projections on the shaft, an actuator for engaging the camprojections to initiate the thread extracting operation of the threadhook and the resetting thereof, and a spring connected with the shaft tocomplete the thread extracting operation and the resetting movement ofthe thread hook.

8. A thread extracting device having, in combination, a thread hook, ashaft on which the thread hook is mounted, cam projections on the shaft,a thread hook actuator having parts coperating with the cam projectionson the shaft to actuate the thread 1,s'72,osa l .6.

hook, connections between the'actuator and neetions between the`controller and the the lay rock shaft whereby the actuator is changeshaft permitting the thread hook to v caused to have a constantreciprocatory be actuated on the rst backward beat of 10 movement, acontroller for preventing the the lay after replenishment and to bereset `5 actuation of the thread hook during reguon the second backwardbeat of the lay lar weavn and for permitting the actuaafterreplenishment. tion thereo on weft replenishment, and con-v JONASNORTHRQP.

